Apologies if this is in the wrong forum; it's my first thread on FT, and as it's not specific to any single US-based airline, I thought it might be best here.

My question is: given that, in the long run (say, 5+ years) oil prices will go up more, airlines can't cut too much more into the bone as they are close to capacity already, and the knowledge that airline profits are being driven more and more by fees rather than airfares, what do FTers think airline travel will be like 5/10/20+ years down the road?

Would airlines really be willing to cut back even more on domestic routes to try to cut costs, or would they simply try to charge more? What about regional airlines--are their days numbered? And what about the ever-shrinking number of legacies--is the very concept of the 'legacy' airline doomed by the success of LCCs and the proclivity of the average American (though, perhaps, not the tendency of the average FTer) to fly as cheap as possible?